This has been an excellent week for our country to showcase to the world our diversity. Our country was built on one big melting pot. Yet we know the melting pot is not always open and inclusive to everyone. The melting pot has often times excluded minorities, women, gays and lesbians from reaching the top of the pot. Yet, some major strides were made this week.
President Obama nominated Retired Marine Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden, Jr., a retired space shuttle astronaut, as the first African-American to head NASA. If approved by the Senate, he will take over NASA and lead us to another dimension in our space exploration. Ursula Burns, new CEO of Xerox, became the first African-American woman to head a Fortune 500 corporation. Benita Mosely Fitzgerald, a former Olympic gold medalist, becomes the first African-American named as USA Track and Field’s first Chief of Sports Performance. And then came more good news. President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. This was truly a week of historic proportions.
There are still many more “firsts” that need to come. There are so many mountains for us to climb in becoming a truly diverse society. Yet, I await the day when we no longer recognize or say “the first” Hispanic, African-American, woman, Asian-American, Native American, gay or lesbian made an achievement. When that day comes, we will truly be a true melting pot. We will then know change has come to America. Diversity is critical to our country’s success and the advancement of our society.